Welcome to our exclusive demo of iDrive 9, the latest version of BMW’s infotainment system. In this video, we’ll give you a first look at what’s new with iDrive 9 and what you can expect when it starts rolling out on newer cars. The iDrive 8.5 and 9 are some of the biggest news in the BMW digital world in 2023. We’ve already seen a teaser of the two infotainment systems at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, but today it’s time to see them live.
One of the biggest changes with iDrive 9 is the move to a newer Android Automotive-based operating system. This means that users will have access to a wider range of apps and services, as well as improved performance and reliability. However, despite the switch to Android, the user interface will remain largely unchanged, so users will still feel right at home with the system. That said, there are a few small new features that are only available with the Android Automotive OS, and we’ll be sure to point those out in the demo.
QuickSelect – A New Way To Interact With The Content
The key concept behind iDrive 9 and its latest feature, QuickSelect, is to eliminate the need for submenus. BMW refers to this as a “zero-layer philosophy,” enabling users to access deeper commands with minimal effort. The primary menus will be displayed on the screen in large vertical widgets, presenting all of their various functions. Once the user completes a menu task, a single press of the home screen icon fixed at the bottom of the screen will return them to the home screen. Although BMW has not yet provided complete details on its functionality, it claims that this new, streamlined menu design will result in a more user-friendly, faster, and more intuitive iDrive 9 experience.
But the overall roll-out of the new iDrive 9 is a bit challenging. All the cars need a specific head unit in order to get the upgrade. And this is where things get a bit more complicated.The BMW 2 Series Active Tourer and BMW X1 will be the first to get iDrive 9. The BMW X1 for the UK market will soon start a pilot project for iDrive 9 which means that new X1 models will get a new head unit which is necessary for iDrive 9. Other markets will follow in the future, but no word which ones and when.
In this video, you will see a pre-recorded demo of the iDrive 9 system implemented in the BMW iX1 for the Chinese market. So the User Interface was adapted for that particular market and some of the apps and features will look different in the iDrive 9 for the global markets. Let’s take a look!